This invention relates to a taxidermy stand for mounting dead animals or parts of the dead animals, and more particularly to a standalone structure for supporting the dead animal or parts thereof.
Mounts are created to display an animal and are popular with hunters seeking to display a trophy prize or catch. Mounts are also popular with outdoor retailers and hunting supply companies which use the mounts as advertising to create a hunter-friendly atmosphere in a store. Museums of natural history use dead animal displays for educational purposes. Animals commonly mounted include game, such as deer, birds, or bear. The taxidermy involves preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skin of the dead animal. Mounting is usually performed using an armature, and stuffing is done by filling the skin of the animal with natural or artificial materials, such as cotton, wood, polyester resin, glass cloth, etc., molded to have the shape of the animal. Dead animals that have undergone a taxidermic process may be displayed on walls of buildings via mount hangers.
As game animals are commonly prized for their antlers, fierce teeth, or large size, mounts usually focus on the head of the animal after cutting off the rest of the animal body. This makes display on the wall a natural choice for mounts, and mounts are thus usually flat along one edge which makes them a natural fit for the line of a wall. Due to ease of installation, hanging apparatuses for mounts are a conventional taxidermic method of displaying the dead animal. Taxidermists can also prepare animals whole, if requested, for customers who wish to display a scene or the animal in a striking pose. In these cases, stylized mounts are often made to look like wood, or rock, or other natural material resembling the animal's habitat. These stylized mounts are typically hard to disassemble and cumbersome to transport.
Although there exist various mount display options, they are usually difficult to set up and install, do not readily yield to retrofitting or customization, and are cumbersome to store and transport.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,294 for a “Mounting System and Method,” issued on Jul. 14, 1998 to inventor Steven A. Magri, provides for a system and method that includes a mounting device for handling an object during treatment or preparation and for mounting the object to a display member for displaying the object. The mounting system and method is particularly suited for use by a taxidermist to handle and mount a fish or other animal prepared by the taxidermist. The mounting device includes a mounting plug adapted to be received in a recessed region in the display member. One or more object engaging members extend from the mounting plug to engage and secure the object. A mounting rod extends from a second end of the mounting plug and includes a gripping region, for easy gripping and handling by a user. The mounting method includes inserting the mounting rod through an aperture in the display member so that the mounting plug is received into the recessed region in the display member. A fastener is then engaged with a fastener engaging region on the mounting rod to secure the mounting device to the display member. In one example, a hanger is provided on the mounting rod against a rear surface of the display member and the mounting rod is severed proximate the hanger to allow the hanger to lie against a flat surface, for easily hanging and displaying.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,972,221 for a “Repositionable Taxidermy Mount Apparatus,” issued on May 15, 2018 to inventor Samuel F. Raby, provides for a repositionable taxidermy mount apparatus that allows a user to quickly and easily reposition a taxidermy type mounted animal or animal portion. The apparatus provides for motion about a plurality of axes creating the ability to display a taxidermy mounted animal in a multitude of different positions and orientations. The apparatus further includes an easily interchangeable swivel plate device which allows the user to display different mounted animals at various mount angles. It is noted that swivel plate device is simply and easily removed from swing arm device and may readily placed on a pedestal such as pedestal by placing bore hole over rod. Furthermore, swivel plate device having animal bust attached thereto, may be simply and easily replaced with a second instance of swivel plate device having a second instance of animal bust attached thereto. Thus, using the described method, if a user tires of displaying for instance a deer bust, the user may replace the deer bust with an antelope bust.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,888 for a “System and Apparatus for Mounting a Taxidermy Trophy,” issued on Jul. 17, 2007 to inventor Russell Van Peek, provides for a system for mounting taxidermy animal trophies on mounting devices that comprises a support platform having a rod protruding therefrom. The rod is a ribbed member having a large plurality of features for securing an animal mount, such as a skull, thereto. For example, the ribbed member may comprise a concrete reinforcement bar that may be sized in diameter and length according to the size of the mount. The rod uses the natural occurring or existing hole or holes in the back of the skull for support thereof. The rod may extend straight from the support platform, such as for wall mounting purposes, or may comprise a bent portion at a distal end thereof for surface display of the mount.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,434 for a “Pedestal Mounted Taxidermy Mannequin and Mold for the Manufacturing Thereof,” issued on Oct. 1, 2002 to assignee Joe Coombs Classics, Inc., provides for a pedestal mounted taxidermy mannequin, and a mold for manufacturing same. Once molded, the taxidermy mannequin includes an elongated, bored hole formed in a bottom portion thereof, and a rigid block positioned in supporting relation to the bored hole, thereby providing structural reinforcement and integrity to the bored hole. A rod is inserted into the bored hole to mount the mannequin to a pedestal. The mold for manufacturing the mannequin is an injection mold into which an elongated rod is inserted after the polyurethane has been injected therein. Just prior to hardening of the polyurethane, the end is removed, thereby leaving a bored hold in the mannequin form.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,828,035 for a “Wall Pedestal for Displaying Animal Heads and Other Wildlife Objects,” issued on Dec. 7, 2004 to inventor Bob Goettl, provides for a wall pedestal for displaying and rotating an animal head and other wildlife objects next to a wall. The wall pedestal includes a wall mounting plate adapted for securing the pedestal to the wall at various heights. The wall mounting plate includes an outwardly extending horizontal support arm. A far end of the horizontal support arm includes a threaded bore for receiving a threaded lower end of a vertical pivot rod. An upper end of the vertical pivot rod is slidably received in a lower portion of a vertical sleeve. A top portion of the vertical sleeve is attached to a portion of a display mounting plate. The display mounting plate is adapted for attachment to the wildlife object suspended the object thereon.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0026347 for a “Taxidermy Mounting Tool and Method,” published on Jan. 29, 2009 by inventor Michael A. Noon, discloses a taxidermy mounting tool for performing a taxidermy procedure, wherein the taxidermy mounting tool includes a plug adapted to be disposed in an aperture formed in the manikin and formed on an end of a means for posing.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0130103 for a “Method of Making a Manikin with an Embedded Stand Component,” published on May 14, 2015 by inventor Dawayne Dewey et al., discloses a method of making a foam manikin with a stand. The method includes sculpting a sculpture of the manikin and forming the sculpture around a mating portion. Then a mold is formed using the sculpture. The mold may include an opening that is formed around the mating portion. The mold may be made in a plurality of pieces and may be taken apart and put back together. To form the manikin, the mold is secured around the mating portion and the mold is filled with a foam. Once filled with foam, the manikin is formed with at least a portion of the mating portion embedded within. The mating portion may be releasably attached to a stand so that the manikin may stand in an upright position.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,468 for a “Mounting System for Displaying a Bird,” issued on May 13, 2003 to inventor Don Williamson, provides for an apparatus for mounting and displaying a taxidermy display, usually a bird or fowl. A bird is mounted on a rod appropriately sized to the birds size and weight. Said rod may be bent to effect the desired presentation of the mounted bird. Types of mounts include landing birds, flying birds right and left directions, or others not traditionally used. The bird is secured on the rod eliminating wires for holding the bird and eliminating driftwood as a mounting base. The resulting combination of the rod with its ability to be bent to and then holding the desired position, the affixing of the bird to that rod, and the affixing of the rod to a mounting base which may be securely affixed to a wall provides unsurpassed stability for the mounted bird. The rod being fixedly or adjustably joined to the mounting base also provides a permanent and more stable mounting apparatus than the heretofore unstable methods of mounting birds.
While the above technical solutions may be beneficial in certain circumstances, there remains a need for a standalone taxidermy stand that accepts custom mounts, is configured to display the animal in a location not attached to the wall, is retrofittable to pre-existing methods of taxidermy, such as mounts stuffed or tailored to fit other displays including those typically used with wall hangers, allows for a high level of customization, is easy to quickly assemble as well as disassemble, and is convenient to pack for travel.